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Prodromal markers of neurodegenerative disease: Insights from the UK Biobank dataset

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Whiteside, David 
Rowe, James B 

Abstract

Introduction: Prediagnostic features of Parkinson’s Disease are well described but prediagnostic Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is less understood. The diagnosis of PSP is delayed by an average of three years after symptom onset. Understanding the changes that occur in the prediagnostic period will aid earlier diagnosis, clarify the natural history, and may aid the design of early disease-modifying therapy trials. We set out to identify motor and cognitive markers of prediagnostic PSP, with Parkinson’s disease as a comparator condition, in a large prospective cohort.

Methods: Baseline UK Biobank data from 502,504 individuals were collected between 2006 and 2010. Subsequent PSP and Parkinson’s disease cases were identified from primary and secondary care electronic health records’ diagnostic coding data and death registry, with 5,404 matched controls.

Results: 176 PSP cases (time to diagnosis 7.8±2.8 years) and 2,526 Parkinson’s disease cases (time to diagnosis 7.8±2.9 years) were identified. At baseline, those later diagnosed with PSP had slower reaction times, weaker hand grip, lower fluid intelligence, prospective memory, self-rated health scores and digit recall than controls. Reaction times were correlated with time to diagnosis. The PSP group had higher mortality than both Parkinson’s disease and control groups.

Conclusions: Motor slowing, cognitive dysfunction, and postural instability are clinical diagnostic features of PSP that are typically symptomatic three years before diagnosis. Objective markers of these features were evident on average 7.8 years before diagnosis. Our findings suggest the existence of a long prediagnostic phase in PSP, with subtle changes in motor and cognitive function.

Description

Keywords

32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, 5202 Biological Psychology, 3202 Clinical Sciences, 3209 Neurosciences, 52 Psychology, Brain Disorders, Acquired Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer's Disease, Neurosciences, Neurodegenerative, Parkinson's Disease, Dementia, Aging, Alzheimer's Disease including Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD), Prevention, 2.4 Surveillance and distribution, 2.1 Biological and endogenous factors, Neurological

Journal Title

Alzheimer's & Dementia

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1552-5260
1552-5279

Volume Title

17

Publisher

Wiley
Sponsorship
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) (146281)
(unknown)
MRC (unknown)
This study was co-funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge (BRC-1215-20014) and the Cambridge Brain Bank; the Holt Fellowship (RG86564); the Medical Research Council (MR/P01271X/1; SUAG051/G101400 and SUAG004/051/RG91365); and the Cambridge Centre for Parkinson-plus (RG95450). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.